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Home » Recipes » Desserts » Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies (with pumpkin)

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies (with pumpkin)

By Taesha Butler October 29, 2019 (Updated August 12, 2021) 14 Comments

Servings18 cookies
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Total Time15 mins
Jump to Recipe
4.43 from 7 votes

These soft, chewy Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies are easy to make in one bowl and are so delicious! With added pumpkin for a bonus punch of goodness, these cookies are naturally gluten free, egg-free and dairy-free.

Jump to Recipe
A tray of Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies cooling on a table covered with white cloth

Why these vegan peanut butter cookies?

I do my best work when I am required to be creative due to lack of ingredients. And these Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies (with pumpkin) are a prime example of that fact.

I like to play a game with myself called “lets see how long you can feed your family without having to go to grocery store.” It forces me to think outside the box instead of relying on staples or getting stuck in a rut of eating the same thing every week. It also helps to keep our food budget under wraps

Well, it was during one of those games that these cookies were born. I was actually planning to make my favorite Pumpkin Almond Butter Cookies when I realized I was out of most of the ingredients….especially the eggs. So, instead of scrapping the cookie plan, I got creative and these Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies were born.

How-to chart of how to make vegan peanut butter cookies with pumpkin made with four separate images and numbered respectively

And its a good thing, as y’all are always asking me for my egg-free recipes. And these Vegan Peanut Butter cookies are the bee’s knees. They are silly easy to whip up when a cookie craving strikes and made from some pretty simple ingredients.

They are soft, slightly chewy and so stinking yummy. I added some chocolate chipped into the mix because chocolate chips kinda make everything better in my book… but you can leave them out if that’s your preference.

What is “natural peanut butter?”

“Natural” is a word that is thrown around a lot these days and doesn’t have any true regulation on it. So, pretty much anyone can claim that their product is “natural”, without it being anywhere close to it.

Real natural peanut butter should only have one or maybe two ingredients. Peanuts and maybe salt. No artificial sweeteners, colors, preservatives or ingredients that you need Google to help you to define.

Some nut butter companies add cane sugar, honey or maple syrup to their PB to sweeten them up. And that is not a terrible thing as long as you know that there is sugar hanging out in your nut butter and you can adjust a recipe or your usage appropriately.

Some of my favorite natural peanut butters are the Trader Joe’s and Costco brands. I know there are many others out there, but I love how affordable and accessible these two are.

A big tower of Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies straight out of the oven. The tower consists of 7 cookies looking extra delicious.

Why does natural peanut butter have oil on top?

Another sign of a natural peanut butter is a layer of oil hanging out on top of your nut butter when you open a fresh jar. This is total normal.

Nuts have a natural oil to them. That oil is supposed to be there. And when peanut butter without a bunch on gunk in it hangs out on a shelf, the nut butter and its oil naturally separate.

You can easily reincorporate back into the nut butter with a quick and through stir upon opening. I also have found storing an unopened jar upside down in the pantry helps mixing the oil but into the peanut butter much easier.

Suggested Adaptations for Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

  • Make these Paleo. Sub the peanut butter for almond butter and you have a veggie-loaded Paleo treat! Just a heads up, almond butter tends to be a bit thinner than PB, so the cookies might be on the softer side.
  • Sub the pumpkin for mashed sweet potatoes or butternut squash puree. I find that these can often be used interchangeably in many recipes!
  • Skip the chocolate. Leave the chocolate chips out for a low sugar cookie that is kind of perfect for breakfast!
  • Sub the chocolate chips for raisins.

Other egg-free recipes you are going to love….

  • Egg-Free Carrot Apple Muffins
  • Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies
  • No-Bake Peanut Butter Carrot Balls
  • Morning Glory Breakfast Cookies

Loving the vegan peanut butter cookies and hungry for more?

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Dipping one of the Vegan Peanut Butter cookies into a big glass of milk with one bite already missing.
A tray of Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies cooling on a table covered with white cloth
Print Recipe
4.43 from 7 votes

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies (with pumpkin)

These soft, chewy Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies are easy to make in one bowl and so delicious! With added pumpkin for a bonus punch of goodness, these cookies are naturally gluten free, egg-free and dairy-free.
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Total Time15 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: egg-free cookie, gluten free cookie, peanut butter cookie, pumpkin cookie, vegan cookie
Servings: 18 cookies
Calories: 91.24kcal
Author: Taesha Butler

Ingredients 

  • 3/4 cup natural smooth peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/3 cup coconut sugar or granulated sweetener of choice
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt skip if peanut butter is salted
  • 3 tbsp ground flax meal
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips*

Instructions 

  • Preheat your oven to 350℉ and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  • Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated.
  • Fold in chocolate chips
  • Using a heaping tablespoon or cookie scoop, portion out the batter onto the prepared baking sheet, making sure to leave room in between the cookies. Use the back of a fork to gently flatten each cookies.
  • Bake in two separate batches for 10 minutes each.
  • Removed from oven and cool on baking sheet for 15-20 minutes. Cookies will firm up as they cool.
  • Once cooled, store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Notes

  • Chocolate chips often contain dairy. Be sure you use a dairy-free brand if that is important.
  • Make these Paleo. Sub the peanut butter for almond butter and you have a veggie-loaded Paleo treat! Just a heads up, almond butter tends to be a bit thinner than PB, so the cookies might be on the softer side.
  • Sub the pumpkin for mashed sweet potatoes or butternut squash puree. I find that these can often be used interchangeably in many recipes!
  • Skip the chocolate. Leave the chocolate chips out for a low sugar cookie that is kind of perfect for breakfast!
  • Sub the chocolate chips for raisins.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 91.24kcal | Carbohydrates: 9.72g | Protein: 3.24g | Fat: 4.95g | Saturated Fat: 1.16g | Cholesterol: 0.5mg | Sodium: 99.34mg | Potassium: 117.87mg | Fiber: 1.16g | Sugar: 5.26g | Vitamin A: 1066.62IU | Vitamin C: 0.29mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 0.44mg

The nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and may vary based on the product type, servings and other factors. If you are following a diet, please consult with a professional nutritionist or your doctor. Stay healthy!

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Filed Under: Dairy-Free, Desserts, Gluten-Free, Grain Free, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: squash

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Reader Interactions

    Leave a comment & rate this recipe Cancel reply

    Did you make this recipe? So good, right? It would mean the world to me if you left a comment and star rating so that more people can see how delicious veggie-loading can be. Plus, it helps me to see what recipes you are all loving so I can make more like them.

    Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback.

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    Comments

  1. Amanda

    October 30, 2019 at 3:25 pm

    5 stars
    So delicious and super easy to make

    Reply
  2. Sara LaPort

    October 30, 2019 at 7:37 pm

    These cookies are so yummy and so addicting ! Love all of your recipes 😀

    Reply
    • Taesha

      October 30, 2019 at 8:59 pm

      Thanks Sara! I’m so glad you liked them! And I know what you mean, they disappear around here in record time!

      Reply
  3. Heather

    November 6, 2019 at 5:47 pm

    5 stars
    These are so good! Easy to throw together and bake up.

    Reply
  4. carey

    November 7, 2019 at 11:53 pm

    5 stars
    I made these and they were fabulous, I love the pumpkin spice and the pumpkin, it is a very subtle flavor. I only had chunky natural peanut butter, next time I will try it with creamy.
    thank you for the delicious, easy recipe

    Reply
  5. Michelle

    March 26, 2020 at 8:35 pm

    If I have flax seed, will that suffice? Or should I run it in the blender?

    Reply
    • Taesha

      March 26, 2020 at 8:44 pm

      I would grind it up into a meal first. The seeds also will not gel into a “flax egg”

      Reply
  6. Jodi

    April 5, 2020 at 7:10 pm

    I have eggs but no flax, can I use just one egg instead? Or would it be one egg white?

    Reply
    • Taesha

      April 28, 2020 at 4:01 pm

      I’d do one egg instead of the flax. However, the addition of an egg usually creates for a cakey cookie! Just an FYI

      Reply
  7. Amy

    April 8, 2020 at 12:32 pm

    5 stars
    Just made these with butternut squash purée – super easy and delicious!

    Reply
    • Taesha

      April 8, 2020 at 3:47 pm

      Yay! I am so glad you enjoyed them!

      Reply
  8. Jordan

    October 29, 2022 at 2:30 am

    1 star
    Followed recipe exactly. Cookies came out completely flat, and never hardened. Massive waste of time >:(

    Reply
    • Taesha Butler

      October 29, 2022 at 10:22 am

      Sorry to hear these didn’t work out for you, Jordan. Usually the dough is pretty thick, so I’m surprised to hear that the cookies were flat. I wonder if your peanut butter had more oil/was thinner than mine.

      Reply
      • Jordan

        October 30, 2022 at 5:20 pm

        Could be, I couldn’t find natural peanut butter either.

        Reply

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Hi! I'm Taesha! I help busy people fall in love with healthy eating with my simple, family-friendly, veggie-loaded recipes. I believe vegetables can and SHOULD be delicious. Here, let me show you how!

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